Improvement in matting foe oabpet lining



- mich tetta getest frrs.

HERMAN C. HEERMAN'CE, cF ULAVERAGK, NEW .-YoRK. Leners Patent No. 61,831, and rca-umg 5, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT 1N Marmo ron CARPET Lnmre, et.

'.lfO ALLWHOM IT MAY CONCERN: i

Be it known that I, HERMAN C. HEenMANcn,.ot` Clavel-ack, in tlie county of Columbia, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Matting; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view showing the principal feature of my invention.

Figure 2 is an edge view of the same.

Figure 3 is an edge view showing both features of my invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

This invention consists in the construction of' matting, to be placed under carpets or used for other purposes, i

of straw, grasses, rushes', or other similar vegetable growths, sewed or stitched together in such manner that while the straw or equivalent material constitutes the body or weft of `I'the fabric, the sewing serves the purpose of awarp to holdrthe said weft together, whereby a ilexible fabric of -any desired thickness is obtained, which'may be placed lunderneath carpets to enable dirt and dust to sift through the s'ame and prevent the excessive wear thereof when placed in contact witlf a hard oor,with much greater en se and convenience than the layer of straw ordinarily employed for that purpose, and whereby a much more uniform and elastic thickness of straw fzfluvalent merislsnpernsstlrtse Carpet .is Swnrd thesbxsushelssinsrysleyse, endrlwrby'mh ,thickhessiof' straw or 'otherV material-,fom inmotlierwordsofniattinglmay le takeiup and "shaken `to remove dirt therefrom with as great facility as-the carpet itself, thesaid matting being, furthermore, not 4only capable of being used' `underneath carpets as aforesaid, but also for other purposes for wh'ich matting, is commonly employed. The invention further, consists in the-combination, with matting constructed as described, of paper secured either to one or both sides of the same' by the same sewing lthat constitutes 'the warp thereof, whereby the matting is made stronger and less liable to injury from being handled. i A

As represented in the drawings, the matting is made of the straw-of wheat, rye, oats, or other similar grain. A The straw is first laid or formed into a'layer of 'the same thickness as that desired for the finished matting, with the straws or stems a, composing the same, placed in a position nearly or quite parallel with each other, and transversely to the length of the finished strip of matting. Beingthus arranged in a layer of the desired thickness, the said layer is sewed longitudinally either byfhand or by any 'suitable mechanism, in such manner that any desired number of seams or rows of stitching, b, are formed transversely to the length of the straw, so that the thread or twine employed in making the said seams, being passed repeatedly through the straw, binds the straws or stems thereof securely together, so as toi'orm a fabric' of a thickness equal -to that of the layer of straw, with the saidf straw constituting the weft of the fabric which is 'held together by the seamsor rows of stitching b, which act as the warp thereof. One of these rows of stitching is placed close toeach of the lateral edges of the sheet or strip of matting-and parallel with the same, so as vto confine the ends Yof the straw, while the remaining rows of the said stitching are Vsituated at equal or at any suitable or desired distances apart between the two outermost rows just mentioned, and are also formedlongitudinallyl in the said strip of matting so as'to bind or conne.- together the central or middle portion of the straw constituting the weft of the fabric as just herein described. When desired, instead of having the rows. of stitching b extending longitudinally with the strip of matting as justvsct forth, theymay be made diagonal thereto, and consequently also diagonal to the" length of the straws or' stems of the straw which constitutes the weft of thefabrio, in which case the said rows of stitching will l act to hold the straw together, or, in other words, as the warp of thc fabric, in substantially the same manner as,

when formed parallel with the lateral edges of ,the sheet or strips, as just' hereinbefore explained.

l It ispdesigned that the operation of sewing or forming the rows of stitching be performed by a sewing machine of any suitable construction, and it is preferred to feed the layer of straw' (or equivalent material of which the weft of the matting is formed) to such sewing machine between two endless belts or aprons operated by any suitable mechanism. Instead of making the weft of the fabric of straw, as represented in the drawings, and as just hereinbefore fully set-forth, the sa'd weft may bemad'e of grasses, or of rushes, or of any similar vegetable growths, which arearranged in the same manner as the) straw to form'the weft of the fabric, and are in like manner stitchedior sewed together by rows of stitching, which act as the warp thereof. when it is desired 'to give the matting a greater degree of strength in order to enableit to better 'resist the effects of handling or transportation, or for' anyother reason, a layercomposed of4 one or more thicknesses ofpaper is secured either upon one vside thereof, as shown at c, in iig. 3, or upon both sides of the same; asA at d d, in

Vthe said figure; the palper being secured to the matting by the. seams or rowsfof stitching b, the stitches of which pass through the said paper as well as through the weft of the vfabricLand thus attach it securely to' thesaid weft. This matting is-rauch better adapted for beingplaeed underneath. carpets to lessen the destruc- -tive wear thereofthan the layer of straw-commonly employed for that\purpose, inasmuch as it may be laid down under the carpet with much greater ease and convenience, and is also. ofa more uniform thickness than such layer, and being somewhat more' compact than such layeris Vproportionally more elastic, and consequently furnishes a more ecient support to the carpet, while the proper sifting o'f thedirt or dust from the carpet into or through the matting is not interfered with in the least; while the Vsaid matting may be `taken up'and shaken to removv'e the dirt therefrom with as great facility as the carpet itself. Furthermore, the matting being very flexible, and capable' of being 'made of any desired thickness, may be employed for any of the purposes for which matting Y is ordinarily used; and as it may furthermore be made at a very moderate cost, both as regards the intrinsicA value of the material and the expense of manufacture, it furnishes a very cheap and elcient' substitute for the matting in common use. Y.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A matting composed of straw, grasses, rushes, or other similar vegetable growths, sewed. together in the manner substantially as and for the purposes set'forth.

2. The combination, v'with a matting constructed as herein described, of\sheets of paper or other thin fabric, secured upon one or both sidesl thereof by means of thsewing.' that constitutes the warp thereof, substantially as herein st forthrfor the purpose speciied. v

' HERMAN o. HEERMANCE.

Witnesses: I

AfIm Gmc, J. WfCopuss. 

